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Westland council approves five-year firefighters contract after yearlong talks
Summary
The Westland City Council approved a successor collective bargaining agreement with Westland Professional Firefighters Local 1279 covering July 1, 2025–Dec. 31, 2030. Officials and union leaders said the deal strengthens recruitment and retention and preserves key health and pension elements.
Westland City Council on Monday approved a five-year successor collective bargaining agreement with Westland Professional Firefighters Local 1279 that city and union negotiators said will help retain and recruit emergency personnel.
The contract, effective July 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2030, was introduced, discussed and approved during new business. Council members and staff praised a year of bargaining that produced wage adjustments, a revised pension multiplier and retroactive pay. Council President McDermott said the department handled 16,368 calls for service in 2025, framing the agreement as necessary to sustain operations.
"1 of the big pain points for me . . . is our pension plan," McDermott said, describing why the contract matters for firefighters who do not receive Social Security. "We have to continuously review our contract . . . to make sure we are competitive."
Union President David Polite, speaking for Local 1279, described long negotiations and mediation that led both sides to a compromise. "We stayed at the table until we reached something that we could all stand behind," Polite said, and called the agreement an investment in the people who serve the city.
Council members thanked bargaining teams on both sides, the fire chief and administrative staff for the work. Several council members noted the contract includes adjustments intended to reduce tiered pension disparities and preserve back-end health benefits, while increasing front-line pay to be more competitive with neighboring communities.
The council moved and passed the motion without a roll-call vote recorded in the transcript. The administration characterized the agreement as a collaborative investment that aims to reduce turnover and improve staffing levels.
The council also heard multiple residents speak in public comment thanking the fire department for recent emergency response work; the record includes a resident who said firefighters stabilized him after a serious April incident and several others who described positive experiences with first responders.
What happens next: the contract takes effect per its stated dates. Council members said they plan to continue monitoring staffing, pay competitiveness and service levels and to consider future adjustments as neighboring jurisdictions change their contracts.
